As National Mission Secretary I undertook a visit to the Solomon Islands and from the 15th–22nd May I stayed in Honiara (the main island and the capital). It had been a long, long time since anyone from the league had visited and currently, we, nationally, support 12 Mission Communities; Christchurch Diocese CWL have 4 of those communities that we raise funds for.
My initial impressions were of a very hot country (average temperature 35C: 80–90% humidity) where the people live simply in small villages but are humble and welcoming. Many are employed but poorly paid and live hand-to-mouth; many families run road-side stalls built from whatever they can find, sometimes just under the shade of a market-type umbrella. They sell locally grown vegetables, bread, betelnut, bottled water and oil.
Firstly, I made contact with Arch Bishop Chris Cardone OP who was very welcoming, very inclusive and informative, and also very realistic. He was able to confirm with me the communities/contacts we currently have there and, now, with his assistance, have a guaranteed line of communication and pathway for transferring funds to our mission communities.
In 2025 the CWL nationally donated $16,939 to their various mission communities in the Solomons and the Christchurch Diocese contribution within that was $4000.
The Catholic Church is in great shape in the Solomons ably led by Arch Bishop Chris and a real highlight for me was attending 9am Sunday Mass (1 of 4 services held every Sunday) said by the Arch Bishop alongside over 2000 other parishioners in the beautiful open-air Holy Cross Cathedral.
Hundreds of families attended, a secondary school choir sang, and 2 small cultural groups performed as well as plenty of youth—their faith is visible, they are proud, devout and sincere!!! Mass lasted 90 minutes—it was inspiring and refreshing.
An absolute delight for me was being able to track down Sister Donna—a nun from the DMI Order (Daughters of Mary Immaculate) – the local sisters. She was the contact person for my own branches’ mission community (Greymouth)—we had lost contact through covid times.
Sister Donna is a midwife at the Good Samaritan Hospital in the Tetere Parish—she told me they had delivered 70 babies in May and I saw her on the 20th May!!
I was able to assist her by buying some basic food supplies (rice and tinned fish) for patients meals in the hospital. Families must feed their own family members in hospital and many cannot because of distance and poverty. I also arranged for a fridge/freezer to be delivered to her own house in late June—she has never had one!
Life in The Solomons can be tough for many but generally I found the locals happy, friendly, clean and tidy and very grateful for anything you did for them.
